Trestle



(No Model.)

0. B. CLARE.

TRESTLE.

No. 390,753. Patented Oct. 9, 1888.

a STATES OBADIAH B. oLAnin, or CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA.

TRESTLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,753, dated October9, 1888.

A unlicatinn filed March 1888.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, OBADIAH B. CLARE, a citizen of the Unitel States,residing at Godar Rapids, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Trestlcs, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The object of my invention is to improve the construction of trestles soas to make them capable of being folded compactly for trans portationand to render them more convenient in use than formerly, as willhereinafter appear.

The invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangementof parts, as hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the invention; Fig. 2, an endelevation of the same; Fig. 3, a side view of the same with one endelevated and the other resting on the ground; Fig. 4, a bottom view ofthe same folded up; Fig. 5, a transverse sectional View in the line a bof Fig. 6, showing the detail of the hinge at one end of the trestle;Fig. 6, a longitudinal sectional view of the same in the line 0 (Z ofFig. 5; Fig. 7, an end view of the hinge portion of the other end of thetrestle; Fig. 8, the same in longitudinal section in the same line asFig. 6; Fig. 9, a fragmentary sectional view showing the detail of thefastening for the braces, and Fig. 10 a fragmentary view showing thedetail of the fastening of the crossbars.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding'parts.

The trestle has been devised with a view to convenience in the beatingof carpets and the like, though it may of course be applied to manyother uses; but for this operation it is desirable to have a large butlight trestle, ca pable of being folded into comparatively small compassfor transportation. In practice I make it about sixteen feet long andten high, and of some strong but light wood, as pine or spruce. Set upit is capable of supporting a good-sized carpet, and folded it is inconvenient form and not too heavy to be easily carried from place toplace.

The trestle is quite simple in its construction, consisting of the baror rail A, flaring legs B B B B, crossbars O O, and braces D D.

Serial No. 266.624. No model.)

The rail A should be made somewhat thicker in the middle than at theends for strength.

The legs B B B B are hinged to the rail A, so as t 0 fold together atthe bottom and also alongside of the rail. For this purpose I provide adouble-jointed hinge for each pair of legs, or, more strictly speaking,a hinge with three joints, one turning on the rail and one on each ofthe legs. One of these hinges, E, may be so constructed as to allow thelegs to swing inwardly or outwardly with respect to the rail; but theother, E, does not allow the legs to swing outwardly beyond the rightangle. The relative operation of the hinges is shown in Fig. 3, and theobject of this construction is to allow one end of the trestle to lie onthe ground while the carpet is drawn up on the rail from that end, thisbeing much easier than to lift it to the height of the trestle when setup. After the carpet has been drawn on the rail in this manner, thedepressed end is elevated and the legs adjusted to proper position.

The special construction of the hinge E and its connections is shown inFigs. 5 and 6. The hinge, as will be seen, is composed of three parts-21pivotal portion, a, fitted to a suitable box, b, on the under side ofthe rail, and two wings, a a, hinged to the central part and adapted tobe secured to the legs in the usual manner. It will be noticed that theupper ends of the legs extend past the side of the rail and have alateral bearing thereon when in position for use.

The hinge E has a flat central portion, a, constituting the half of ahinge transverse to the rail, and, as will be seen, turns only in onedirection-inwardly-formingalock when turned back against the rail. Thismovable central portion, a, is hinged to two wings, c 0, similar tothose of the hinge E, which are secured to the legs B B. In this mannerthis pair of legs is held from swinging outward past a rightangletotherail,thusinsuringtheirproper position whether the brace D beconnected with the legs or not, and making it more convenient to set upthe trestle.

Each pair of legs is provided with a crossbar, 0, pivoted to one leg, soas to fold up. The other leg is provided with a long stirrupirou, (Z,between which and the leg the free end of the cross-bar moves and isfastened. A stud, e, prevents the end of the cross-bar from becomingdetached from the stirrup, and a notch, f, on the under side of thecross-bar engages with the lower end of the stirrup and locks the legswhen spread at the bottom.

The braces D D are hinged to the underside of the rail, and their outerends are provided with hooks g engaging with the cross-bars.

In practice I make these hooks in the angular form shown, the angle ofthe hook and that of the end of the brace corresponding to the angle ofthe cross-bar with respect to the brace when in position for use. Thecross bar, as will be seen, lies between the hook g and the end of thebrace and may be securely fastened in this position by means of set orthumb screws h h.

The trestle is most conveniently set up by first drawing out the pair oflegs represented by the hinge E, on the spreading ofwhich legs thecross-bar drops into position and the brace hooks over the cross bar. Inthat inclined position carpet or the like may be slid into position onthe rail and the other end then elevated at will and in a manner sosimple as to require no description. Thus constructed the device affordsa convenient support for carpets and the like, and its form is such asto facilitate the removal of dust from them, as the lower sides of thecarpet, the extremes of which rest upon the flaring legs of the trestle,are spread apart considerably, allowing the air to pass through and thedust to escape.

Having thus described my invention, what 1'. claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a trestle, the combination of the rail A, legs B B B B, doublyhinged to said rail, the cross-bars G C, pivotall y connected with oneof each pair of legs and having the notchesff near their opposite ends,the stirrups d (l, and the braces D D, having hooks to engage with thecrossba rs, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a trestle, the combination, with the rail A and legs B B B B, of ahinge, E, having a central pivotal portion, a, adapted to allow freemovement in either direction. transversely t0 the rail, and the hinge E,having a central portion, a, adapted to swing inwardly only, each ofsaid hinges having wings c a, hinged at right angles to the centralportions and adapted to connect with the legs, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

his OBADIAH X B. CLARE.

in at l;

Witnesses:

FRANK G. CLARK, L. Coornn.

